706 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST [April 2, 1888. 
over them. The best eggs were put into hatching 
boxes that had been prepared for their reception, 
and in the course of the same day of their arrival, 
two young trout hatched out alive. Our hopes were 
now raised that we should succeed in at least obtain- 
ing a sufficient number, of young fry to form a 
stock from which to propagate in the future. But the 
young fish as they came out appeared to be weakly, and 
although some fifteen in all have hatched out, we have 
only some eight left alive, and it is very doubtful if we 
shall succeed in rearing them. The fungus already 
spoken of seems to attack the young fish, although they 
were at once separated from the inf eoted eggs,and is prob- 
ably the cause of their death. The experiment therefore 
may be considered a failure — but I have no doubt from 
the experience gained that it can be successfully carried 
out. I believe the eggs were in a too advanced stage 
when they left England. Mr. Silk was anxious that 
none but good ova should be sent out, and with this view 
he kept the ova in England until the eyes appeared, 
with the result that the fish hatched on the journey. 
In future it should be arranged that the ova are 
despatched as soon as taken from the fish, and as it 
takes some sixty or seventy days to the time of 
hatching, this would give ample time for their transit 
to this country. Some improvements in the boxes in 
which they came out might also be made, and I have 
eTery confidence that, when the experiment is re- 
newed next season, it will be successful. We have 
shown now that it is possible, and I hope to induce 
the Nilgiri Game Association — which has consider- 
able funds at its credit — to take it up, and 
to import several boxes of trout ova next 
winter. We have beautiful streams and brooklets on 
these Hills in which it is oertain trout would do well if 
once introduced. We have only to turn to the success 
of the experiment in Ceylon to prove this and, in spite 
of present failure, I yet hope to walk the brook sides of 
the Nilgiris rod in hand, and with a few ' speckled 
beauties' in my basket. I would take this opportuinty 
of publioly tendering my thanks to the British India 
Company for the sporting way in which they at once 
came forward and offered to bring out the ova free of 
charge. My thanks are also due to Messrs. Arbuthnot 
& Co., who took considerable trouble and interest in 
landing and forwarding them." 
♦ 
TEA AND COFFEE ADULTERATION. 
There is one virtue which the opponents of Indian 
and Ceylon tea are reluctantly compelled to allow these 
teaB, viz., that they are free from adulteration. The 
public analyst for the City of London (Dr. Sedgwick 
Saunders) in his annual report for the past year refers 
to tea as follows : — "This article does not very frequent- 
ly come under the official notice of the public analyst, 
as teas are now examined in bond by the analyst to the 
Commissioners of Customs, who in 1886 received no 
less than 2,546 specimens. These represented con- 
«ignments amounting in the aggregate to many 
thousands of packages. No less than 7,255 of these 
came under the prohibitory provisions of the Act, 
and were either seized or restricted to exportation : 
5,113 of these were 'capers,' and were adulterated 
with exhausted leaves to an extent varying from 10 
to 20 per cent., besides being loaded with from 7 
to 11 per cent, of sand ; 1,693 were oongoi's, 1,575 
of which were China teas from Marseilles, the re- 
mainder from China (these teas were all adulte- 
rated with exhaasted leaves varying from 20 to 30 
per cent.); 420 were tea-dust from China, and 21 
tea-duSt from Japan, containing 10 and 18 per cent, 
of mineral matter respectively ; 4 packages green 
tea from Singapore with 0 per cent mineral matter, 
and with leaves other than tea. There were also 
four packages which were unfit for human food, 
and which were seized and destroyed accordingly. 
As distinguished from the above the teas from India 
and Ceylon seem to be rarely adulterated. That this 
inspection is very thorough is shown by the fact that 
in the same year public analysts examined 511 sam- 
ples, only one of which was reported to be adulter- 
ated. Id former year*, when tea was a highly priced 
'uxury, it was tampered with to an alarming extent; 
and in this connection it may be interesting to 
quote from an Act of George III which re- 
cites that ' great quantities of sloe leaves, anil 
leaves of ash, elder, and other trees, shrubs, aDd 
plants are manufactured and sold in imitation of 
tea, and that such evil practices are increased to 
a very great degree, to the injury and destruction 
of great quantities of timber, woods, and underwoods, 
the prejudice to the health of His Majesty's sub- 
jects, the diminution of the revenue, the ruin of the 
fair trader, and the encouragement of idleness.' " 
Of coffee, Dr. S. Saunders says : — There is little doubt 
that the article when ground is largely mixed with chicory 
(I have found 40, 50, and even 60 per cent.), but it 
seems to be a recognised custom in the trade of a 
retail grocer, especially in the poorer districts, to sell 
suoh a mixture when coffee is asked for, and, 
as a rule, the purchaser is well aware of 
the fact. A few months ago a large number of samples 
of coffee were privately purchased by my directions 
from small traders in the poorer districts of the city'; 
half at least of them were found to be mixtures of 
coffee and chicory in varying proportions. The matter 
was followed up and samples taken under all the com- 
plicated minutia of the Act, by the inspectors at the 
shops of the chief offenders. With only one exception 
the samples that reached me were coffee pure and sim- 
ple. In the exception mentioned the amount of chicory 
was estimated, and the " foreign ingredient '' 
photographed under the microscope, thus proving the 
undoubted presence of chicory in case of any appeal. 
The whole of this work was in vain, and it subsequently 
came to my knowledge that the vendor had informed 
the inspector that the sample was a mixture before 
the purchase was completed. These coffee-sellers may 
have become aware that their wares were under sur- 
veillance, and hence the failure to get a conviction ; 
but the following is probably the true reason why no 
adulterated samples were seoured; — When the first 
batch of coffee samples were taken unofficially 
an ounce of coffee only was asked for ; the inspector 
who oalled a fe^ days later demanded a pound. As 
these small traders are generally asked for ounces 
or pennyworths only, 6uch an unusually large 
order may have excited suspicion. In one case, 
where an ounce had in the first instance been found 
largely adulterated, it was discovered that the trader 
was in such a small way of business that he was un- 
able to execute an order for a pound, as he had not 
sufficient on the premises. The grocers doing a better 
class of business, when asked for coffee, as a rule 
said, "Do you want purecoffee?" and pure ooffee was 
also supplied when demanded. Those citizens who 
require pure coffee can, therefore, procure it without 
any difficulty ; in fact, there are establishments in the 
City where the purchaser can have the berry roaBted 
and ground before his own eyes free of any extra 
charge. — H. & Q. Mail, March 2nd. 
+ 
CHINA TEA. 
At the outset of tea cultivation in India, we|have . 
been told, two great mistakes were made. It was 
thought China possessed a monopoly of " drink- 
able " leaf, and so Chinese shrubs were brought 
round and planted in Assam ; and it was thought 
every Chinaman knew by instinct all about the 
growth and preparation of tea, and so every China- 
man who could be got hold of in the Calcutta bazaar 
was enlisted and taken to the scene of the new enter- 
prise. The last mistake was easily rectified ; the 
Chinamen were very soon found to possess no 
monopoly of knowledge, and were sent back ; but 
the effeots of the first mistake were ineradicable. 
The Chinese plants took root and inter-married, 
producing a hybrid which is now declared to be 
much inferior to the native leaf. We are remind- 
ed of the incident by a passage in the letter 
reoently addressed by oertain gentlemen interested 
in the tea trade, to the Commissioner of Customs 
